NACE Excellence Awards 2005
Best Practice or Program—Information Resources for Students: College
“12 Essentials for Success: Competencies Employers Seek in College Graduates” —Michigan State University’s Office of Career Services and Placement
Michigan State University’s Office of Career Services and Placement developed a guide titled “12 Essentials for Success: Competencies Employers Seek in College Graduates” to help students—from freshman to seniors—prepare for life after college. The guide explains a range of global skills, defines terminology, and offers suggestions on acquiring necessary competencies during their time at MSU.
Practitioners across campus have started using “12 Essentials for Success” in advising appointments, workshops, and career classes, as well as in a number of major-related courses.
The Office of Career Services and Placement also has developed an exercise to use with the guide that prompts students to write about a competency-related experience, describing the situation, their role and actions, the outcome, and what they learned. This exercise has proven an effective way to get students to connect their academic, co-curricular, and personal experiences to marketable skills.
